Giveaways Keep MLB Demand Up During Summer

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With the All-Star Game now behind us and the postseason still months away, MLB teams are looking for ways to keep fans engaged during the middle of the season. Unsurprisingly, teams offer the most bobblehead giveaways during the summer months. Ten percent of all games in July feature bobblehead giveaways, the highest of any month, followed by August at eight percent.

Each team’s fanbase reacts differently to freebies, and Cleveland Indians fans lead the way as the most enthusiastic. The average resale price to an Indians game that features a bobblehead giveaway this season is 88 percent higher than the average Indians home game. Other teams that host highly successful giveaways include the St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, and Oakland Athletics.

Fans seem to prefer bobblehead giveaways that feature current or recently retired players rather than those that feature legends or miscellaneous characters (the Cincinnati Reds held a Yoda bobblehead giveaway back in May). The giveaways that have sparked the highest price increases this season – relative to the average price for matchups between the same teams – are Clayton Kershaw, David Eckstein, Torii Hunter, and Adrian Gonzalez.

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